consonants ngu am am vi

2.1 How sound is producedThe ways in which we produce the sounds of any language is througharticulators, or organs of speech, as the diagrams below show:

Diagram 1 Articulators/Speech Organs

Consonants in English are pulmonic. That is, their formation depends upon anegressive (outward-flowing) airstream initiating in the lungs. Pulmonicconsonants are described according to three features:•

place of articulation;

•

manner of articulation;

•

whether the vocal cords vibrate in articulation that is if they are voiced.

Together, this is known as the voice-place-manner articulation or VPMdescriptors.

The IPA is designed to capture the sounds of all varieties of English. Table 1below shows the consonants to be found in the English spoken in England asthey correspond to VPM descriptors.

2.2 Place of articulationThe column titles above refer to the place of articulation. Starting from theleft:

In producing bilabial consonants, both lips are involved, as exemplified in the[m] of /mute/; such consonants restrict the airflow to a greater or lesser extent.Labiodental articulation takes place when the top teeth and the bottom lipcome into contact, producing sounds such as [v] as in /vase/ and [f] found in/face/.Dental articulation is where the tongue may protrude between the teeth inorder to produce dental sounds, which in English are heard as /th/;represented by phonemes [θ] found in /thing/ and [ðð̠] as in /those/.Alveolar articulation or sounds is where sounds are produced when the bladeof the tongue is placed against the alveolar bridge; the bony platform rightbehind the teeth. In English this includes sounds like [d] for instance in/dance/, [z] as in /zoo/ and [n] found in /new/.Post Alveolar articulation or consonants is where sounds are produced furtherbackwards, halfway between the alveolar ridge and hard palate. Articulationof these consonants involves the body of the tongue being raised towards thefront of the palate. In English, these include [ ʃ ] and [ʒ], known respectively as/sh/ and /zj/, for instance in /fish/ and /pleasure/.Uvular and pharyngeal articulation is not found in English, but is present inother languages and varieties of English.Retroflex describes when consonants are articulated between the alveolarridge and hard palate with a tongue positioned in a backward or curled shape,often with the tip raised. This curling back process involves the tip of thetongue being placed in a position further back in the mouth; a key feature thatdistinguishes these types of consonants from the alveolar ones which reflectthe same orthographic unit. Note though, that although retroflex consonantsare not found in RP English for example, they do occur in other Englishaccents, like Ulster Irish.

Palatal sounds are those which involve the body of the tongue rising towardsthe most domed part of the palate. In English, the only palatal sound is [j]which corresponds to the letter /y/, as shown in the word /yacht/.

Velar sounds (also known as velum) involve the back of the tongue movingtowards the soft palate that lies behind the palate itself (ref4). In English, threevelar phonemes exist, including [k] as in /kite/, [g] like in /gang/, and [ŋ]; thelatter sounds like, and is orthographically represented as /ng/, occurring at theend of syllables, for instance in /dancing/.Glottal sounds are produced by putting pressure on the airflow in the glottisby closing and pivoting vocal cords. In English, two glottal sounds are present;the glottal stop [ʔ] which replaces the /t/ phoneme in words such as /that/found some accents like cockney, and the voiceless glottal fricative [h], whosesound is indicated in words like /hat/.

2.3 Manner of articulation:The row headings which make up the second main axis of the above chartrepresent the manner of articulation.The plosives, known to be the most consonantal of the manners of articulation(ref5), involve completely closing the vocal tract at one of the points ofarticulation; the pressure then builds up from the bottom and so an egressiveairstream is pushed out of the lungs into the oral cavity. This eventuallypushes the articulators like the tongue and alveolar bridge apart, producing asmall explosive sound (ref6). Plosive sounds in English include [p], [t], [k], [b],[d] and [g].Likewise, nasal consonants are similar to plosives in that they too involvecomplete closure at some point along the vocal tract however the difference isthat with nasals, the velum is lowered away from the back wall of the pharynx.Subsequently, air leaves the nose and enters the closed off oral cavitysimultaneously (ref7); in this way there is no buildup of pressure thus noplosion as the air leaves the air leaves the nostrils. In English, these nasalsinclude [m], [n] and [ŋ].Taps or flaps are produced by a single fast movement of the top of the tongue,typically against the alveolar bridge; the [r[ sound in British accents, notablythat of Scotland is an example of this consonant.

Fricative: these are produced when air flows through a narrow channel, whichis created when two articulators (like the lower lip and upper teeth in the caseof [f]) come into contact without closure. The English fricatives include [f], [s],[z], [v], [h], [ ʃ ] and [ʒ], [θ] and [ðð̠].Approximants are less consonantal, and are produced when articulatorsmove towards closing, though not near enough produce friction or a plosivebuild-up of pressure (ref9). Approximants in English include [w], [r], and [j], ofwhich the latter is spelt orthographically as /y/. The lateral approximant [l] isalso included in this category; it is produced when the tongue touches thealveolar bridge, but the sides of the tongue are lowered in order to allow air tofreely leave.Within the range of consonants between plosives and fricatives, two otherconsonants are present in English, known as affricates. These tend not to berecognised as single consonants since they are made up of two phoneticconsonants, however, they are typically treated as a single sounds. Theseaffricates are [ tʃ ] and [dʒ], which are found in, for example, /channel/ and/grudge/; they are produced like plosives in that they begin with a full closure,but instead of air building up leading to an explosive release, it is releasedslowly. In this way, there is a short fricative phase, where the articulatorsseparate, though before they fully part (ref10).